The Growth And Development Of Freshwater Angelfish(pterophyllum Scalare)

I had an idea last week that I would go ahead and track the growth and development of the fry my angelfish laid this last Monday. Well, they were eggs at the time. Unfortunately, I did not have the presence of mind to take a photo of the eggs so the photos will be starting from wiggler stage. As I go along in this blog I will be describing how many days since the eggs were laid and just what is happening with their development. This way people will know what to expect each day as they watch them grow and develop. Even though I do not currently have a photo of eggs or the spawning process I will go ahead and start at that point.

The first step to raising angelfish is of course to get a breeding pair. This can be done in more than one way. You can buy a pair that has already been proven or you can buy multiple angelfish at a young age and as they mature some should pair up. I recommend getting at least six. This way you increase your chances of getting a pair. Buying young fish is more time consuming, but in most cases it is the cheaper option. You can always sell the extra fish at a later date if you like.

You may be wondering how you would know if you have a pair or not so here are some things to look for. You may see something called lip locking in which two fish will lock mouths and shake each other. You may also see fin twitching and posturing. Sometimes this is territorial behavior, but it can also be signs two fish are sizing each other up as potential partners. Once they have decided they like each other, you will see them cleaning an area of the aquarium with their mouths. It is best to provide the fish with a slate of some sort that can be leaned against the glass. Otherwise they may spawn in places you don’t want them to such as the heater or the filter intake. Sometimes, even with a slate provided they will spawn where you don’t want them to. Some also like to use broad leafed plants such as the amazon sword plant. A water change will sometime stimulate the urge to spawn. Most pairs spawn every 1-2 weeks and will lay hundreds of eggs. Below is a photo of a breeding pair I used to own.

OK, so you have  a pair that has spawned. Your looking at roughly 500 eggs and wondering what on Earth to do. Here is a sometimes hard learned fact for many angelfish keepers. Most pairs will eat their first several spawns! What can you possibly do about that? Well, you can let them practice and hope they eventually get it right or you can pull the eggs. Here are some things you may see in good parent raisers. They may take turns fanning the eggs with their fins to keep oxygen flowing over them. Or one will be the egg fanner while the other one guards the eggs from any threats. This can include other tank inhabitants and even you. One tip that may be useful to you is when the parents feel threatened they may actually eat the eggs thinking they are protecting them. Weird huh? Another thing the parents should be doing is eating the fungused eggs. These eggs will turn white instead of staying the clear to amber color that fertile eggs are. If they are not removed the fungus will grow and overtake the surrounding fertile eggs thus killing them. Once the eggs hatch the parents will sometimes move the wigglers to other locations in the tank. So if you look in there and they are not where they used to be, look around before you label you fish egg eaters. Now I am going to talk about the other option of pulling the eggs.

Congratulations, you have decided to pull the eggs and raise them your self. Depending on where the eggs were laid this can be easy or difficult. If they were on a heater you can unplug it and transfer it to the new tank. Be sure to replace it with another so the temperature does not drop in the parent tank. If they have laid their eggs on a slate or a plant leaf just remove it and place it in the new tank. The leaf may have to be weighted. Keep in mind that the new tank should be the same temperature as the old tank. The amount of water in the tank is not important at this point. Some people use a large jar or five gallon tank, but I use a ten gallon tank.  One thing you will need to have regardless of whether or not the parents raise them or you do is a sponge filter. Most hang on back type filters have too strong of suction and will suck the babies into the filter and kill them. A sponge filter has a much slower flow rate and works as a biological filter. Bacteria colonize the sponge and break down waste produced by the fry. The suction is created by a vacuum from the bubbles rising. The bubbles of course are produced by and air pump. In the photo I will later post of my free swimmers you will see part of the sponge filter I am using. Once you have place the eggs in the hatching tank you will need to place an air stone near the eggs. This mimics the fanning the parents would normally be doing and keeps oxygen flowing over the eggs. You will also need to add hydrogen peroxide or methylene blue to control the fungusing of the eggs. I use methylene blue and just follow the directions on the bottle.

Alright, now down to the what happens when that this whole blog is about.

Day 0, eggs are laid. Usually, eggs are laid in the late afternoon and evening time.

Day 1, you see some eggs turn white and you may see darker color developing in others.

Day 2, eggs begin to hatch. You will see little a tail wiggling and some may fall off the slate. Parents usually try to put them back, but it is fine to leave them where they are. The wigglers will stay attached to any surface by means of a sticky thread that is secreted from their head region. They are mostly a yolk sac at this point. This is also when you should begin daily water changes of about twenty five percent. Fry need to have incredibly clean water. They are very sensitive to bacteria and it won’t take much to kill them. Keep in mind that the new water needs to be as close to the same temperature as the old water that you can get it. Always add the water conditioner.

Day3, tails are noticeably longer and yolk sac is noticeably smaller. With the aid of a magnifying glass you may be able to see small black dots that are the beginning of eyes.

Day 4, eyes are much more pronounced. So much so that you can see the pupil in a ring of gold. Tails are longer and yolk sac much smaller. They will be wiggling much more furiously at this point, but for the most part will not be swimming yet because they are still attached by the sticky thread on their heads.

Day 5, yolk sac is nearly gone. They eyes look the same. Some fry may be seen occasionally breaking free and moving short distances to another location at which they are once again attached.

Day 6, usually you will see some that are swimming though only for short periods of time. In only a short amount of time they will all be up and swimming about. Once they are all up and swimming, their yolk sacs will be depleted and you can feed them.

Day 7, that is today and at this point is as far as I can go because it is where my fry are now. As of sometime last night they were all up and swimming about. They can now be called free swimmers. I gave them their first meal of newly hatched baby brine shrimp. Baby brine shrimp is the best first food you can give them. There are some powdered foods on the market that work OK too, but I only use them as a supplement. Not all fry are swimming and that is because some are deformed. These one I will need to cull. I use the circle of life method and feed them to my adult fish.

Alright, it is May 12 and I have just taken some more photos of my free swimmers. So far I have had pretty minimal death and they appear to be thriving. They like to hide under the sponge filter. I had to lift it off the bottom because I was afraid they would get squished under it. Somehow they were swimming into the tiny space that was between the base and the tanks glass bottom. When I looked at them with a magnifying glass this morning I thought I could make out a small thicker part along their backs that will eventually become their dorsal fin. They are swimming much stronger today though not strong enough to avoid the suction from my siphon hose. That’s OK because I siphon the water into a bucket. I check for the little guys before I dump it and dip out any I see with a nice soft brine shrimp net. I am feeding them baby brine shrimp twice a day. After each feeding the extra food is either siphoned off the bottom or wiped up with a paper towel. I do not want the uneaten food rotting and killing my fry.